Read on if you've ever had to take time to query an erroneous 'phone bill, or to return a faulty item, only to be told you'll be refunded as a "goodwill gesture"...

It's my pet hate. A few weeks ago I bought a new lamp for our living room, only to find (having stripped out the original) that one of the more crucial parts was missing. On contacting the shop, I was told they were "unable to provide the missing part", but could order one from the manufacturers "for an extra eighteen pounds". Needless to say, I wasn't about to write the cheque, and marched the lamp furiously across town for a confrontation.

"We'll refund on this occasion, sir - as a goodwill gesture," I was told.

The light may not have made it to the ceiling, but I certainly did.

Fact is, there's a difference between the free giving of goodwill and the indisputable need for recompense. Which is why I'm utterly gob smacked at the deplorable customer service I received today from what I've already named as "the worst bus operator in the world".

As a goodwill gesture, and by way of identifying the worst provider of customer service in the world, I'll include their logo:

You'll recall that Thames Travel (Wallingford) Limited is responsible for the bus which, on a cold night in March, sailed past my friend Guy and I at the most rural of bus stops. To give them their due, Thames Travel did respond to my answerphone message, and to the subsequent comment form I submitted online, promising to "investigate the complaint".

After a few days, I received a polite email informing me that CCTV footage from the bus in question had been examined, and whilst they'd been able to confirm that we were indeed left at the bus stop, "the lighting at the (bus) stop was very poor". The inference was that the driver, through a mere windscreen, hadn't been able to see the shape of two grown men waving frantically in the road, even though that spectacle clearly had been visible to the CCTV camera. (Wouldn't it look great on YouTube?)

All that aside, Thames Travel offered to do the only decent thing, promising to pay compensation for our tickets and the unavoidable taxi journey to take us back to civilisation before dawn. All in, I calculated that a cheque for £15.40 would make us at least financially square.

Today, that compensation arrived...

... in the form of "a voucher for £15.40 to cover the cost as promised".

As I sit here, contemplating the length of the bus journey I'd need to make in order to claim my full £15.40's worth of Thames Travel credit, I wonder whether there's ever been a gesture so bereft of goodwill. Clearly, my dissatisfaction with the service has been taken seriously to the point that it's been followed up, and that is to be applauded. But in terms of a satisfactory resolution for the customer, this is crass; it would be like presenting a victim of bird flu with a lifetime supply of turkey.

Nobody champions the cause of the small independent bus operator more than I. In this case, though, I take forward the cause of the wronged consumer. Bottom line is, the taxi driver didn't accept my bus ticket, so why should I accept a glorified bus ticket to "cover the cost" of the taxi?

As a goodwill gesture, I'll be returning the voucher to its sender with a debit note for the £15.40 I'm owed. I'll also enclose a credit note for any on-board radio presentation services they may need in the future. They'll be just as likely to use it as I will their buses.